On March 13, 2020, the UCI campus responded to the COVID-19 pandemic by transitioning to remote teaching. Educators in those early days were forced to quickly pivot to enable academic continuity for students while navigating the uncertainty of this unprecedented situation in terms of the length, depth and breadth that we know the pandemic to have impacted us now.

In the midst of the disruption during the past year, the iMedEd Initiative hit a major 10-year milestone. iMedEd started with the launch of the one-to-one Apple iPad program in 2010, just months after the introduction of the iPad to the world. The tenth anniversary of iMedEd was highlighted by the enduring impact of this program as the emergency shift to remote teaching benefitted from the immediate ability to deliver exams online through student iPads, online access to all course materials, a comprehensive library of lecture capture video and studio recordings, and the infrastructure to support time-critical faculty development and technical support.

To read more about the accomplishments of the iMedEd Initiative, read: iMedEd 10-Year Anniversary Infographic.

As we look toward the changes coming ahead, there are many lessons to be learned from reflecting on the past year. There are things that we would do differently in medical education now and things that we want to keep the same. The consistent lesson is that innovation across the UCI School of Medicine has helped us weather a storm, and the successful Match Day last week was evidence that our mission to Teach will steadfastly prevail, with or without Zoom.

To watch highlights of Match day, visit: UCISOM Match Day 2021.

This blog post will conclude the iMedEd Release Notes series. Thank you for tuning in. We are excited to continue sharing news and resources through collaboration with the UCI Health Affairs Office of Education moving forward.